03/09/2010

Embargoed until 8.30 p.m. It is with great pleasure that I find myself among all of you again here this year at the Pafos Medieval Castle on the occasion of the 12th Pafos Aphrodite Festival. I feel, like you, fortunate to be present at another great event in the cultural life of our country. This year we have the opportunity, in this enchanted place in Pafos, to enjoy the La Boheme, the fourth in line opera that was composed by Giacomo Puccini. A play that deals with love, the composer's favourite subject, a creation that touches with its melodies the most sensitive chords of the human soul. With this opportunity, I salute the participation of the National Opera of Slovakia in this year' s Pafos Aphrodite Festival with the presentation of the La Boheme Opera. The co-operation of the company "Pafos Aphrodite Festival Cyprus" with the National Opera of Slovakia constitutes one more proof of the very good traditional relations that exist between the two countries and contributes to their further strengthening. On this occasion, I would like to express my personal gratitude and the gratitude of the Cypriot people for Slovakia' s support to the struggle carried out by our people.

more...

03/09/2010

“The two sides submitted orally their positions on the property issue at the direct negotiations”, the President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias stated today. In statements to the press, on his return to the Presidential Palace from the venue of the direct talks, President Christofias said:"today we referred orally to our general positions on the property issue and the substance is still ahead of us; the discussion will commence next week. The day has been changed from Tuesday to Wednesday. I will travel to Athens attend the event, which is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Republic of Cyprus, and I will return on Monday afternoon. For this reason we requested an extra day to examine what the Turkish Cypriot side has outlined.”

more...

01/09/2010

“Our common target is to find a final and mutually acceptable solution to the Cyprus problem”, the President of the Republic stated last night, after the dinner he hosted with his wife Mrs Elsi Christofias for the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Dervis Eroglu and his wife Mrs Meral Eroglu. In his statements after the dinner, which took place at his holiday residence in Kellaki village, the President of the Republic said: “It is with great pleasure and joy that we have received here at our house Mr Eroglu and Mrs Eroglu and I want to say that I share fully what Mr Eroglu has said. Since we are working to reunite Cyprus in the framework of a bizonal bicommunal federation, I think it is our duty to meet on the social level as well in order to break the ice because, as Mr Eroglu also said, we are not comrades, but we can become friends”.

more...

01/09/2010

The President of the Republic, Mr Demetris Christofias, received today, at the Presidential Palace, the United Nations Special Adviser on Cyprus, Mr Alexander Downer. After the meeting Mr Downer told the press that he had “a very good meeting with Mr Christofias,” adding that “we are obviously, in the UN, looking forward to the leaders’ meeting on Friday, and importantly the two full-day meetings that are going to take place next week. It’s going to be an interesting period when we discuss the property question.”

more...

31/08/2010

The President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias will have a meeting at 10 am today with the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Dervis Eroglu, at the UN protected area of Nicosia airport. This will be the first meeting after the summer recess.

more...

31/08/2010

“There was a cordial atmosphere”, the President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias stated today referring to his meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, which took place in the framework of the direct negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem. On his return to the Presidential Palace after the talks, the President of the Republic, asked whether the talks have resumed after the summer recess with good omens, replied: “we shall see. There was a cordial atmosphere, naturally. We have decided on the further actions, but from there on, whether the omens will be good or not, I hope they will be good, documents will be exchanged. Initially, we, both sides, will outline our positions again in general terms on the property issue and we will continue the discussion.”

more...

30/08/2010

The President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias underlined that the insistence on the process of the bicommunal dialogue on the agreed basis and the continuous assumption of initiatives constitute a reply to the scenarios and rumoured intentions of specific circles on the Cyprus problem, and noted that the three proposals he has submitted can create prospects for a solution and constitute the basis for unity on the home front. In his speech yesterday at the memorial service of the hero Yiorgos Tsikouris at the St Basil’s church in Strovolos, President Christofias said that a lot is being said and written about various scenarios and dangers that may arise in the near future. “We are not misled and we do not panic because of these rumours. The best answer to the various scenarios and rumoured intentions of specific circles is our insistence on the process of the bicommunal dialogue on the agreed basis” he stressed.

more...

27/08/2010

The President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias appointed today Mr Christos Christofides to the position of Director of the Office of the President of the Republic. Mr Christofides will also act as Deputy Government Spokesman.

25/08/2010

The President of the Republic, Mr Demetris Christofias, speaking yesterday at the opening ceremony of the work of the 23rd Conference of POMAK and PSEKA and of the 5th World Conference of NEPOMAK referred to the parameters of the struggle for the solution of the Cyprus problem as well as to need for unity in the home front, which was and remains, as he said, “the key element and prerequisite for the success of our cause”. Referring to Turkey, President Christofias said: “We challenge Turkey to make positive steps that are related to the international aspect of the Cyprus problem and to help Mr Eroglu come with reasonable proposals for a federal solution and then it will be surprised how decisively and instantly we will proceed to a mutually acceptable and agreed solution of the Cyprus problem. I declare before you that despite the difficulties and the problems at the negotiations we are not going to abandon them. Committed and devoted to the agreed negotiation basis, we will continue to proceed to the negotiating table, which is the mirror of the willingness of each side to achieve a solution. Action constitutes the criterion of truth, irrespective of the declarations and statements that are made on the Cyprus problem”.

more...

19/08/2010

The President of the Republic Mr Demetris Christofias and the President of the Russian Federation Mr Dmitry Medvedev exchanged congratulatory messages yesterday on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the Russian Federation. In his message, President Christofias notes, inter alia, the following: “The traditional ties of friendship and the sincere sentiments of respect and solidarity between our peoples depend upon spiritual proximity and cultural affinity and they compose the axis of the multilateral relations between Cyprus and Russia. Besides, it is no coincidence that ever since the declaration of independence of the Republic of Cyprus the political ties between our countries had been very tight.

more...